A Tale of Two Quarterbacks

Mark Brunell. I've been brutal on him this season. Deservedly so. He's looked lost on the field, and hasn't been very productive. I've been calling for Jason Campbell to get the start in Washington.

Ben Roethlisberger. I've been very high on him since he came into the league. Deservedly so. He's a proven winner. He's managed games well, he's won games well. He's got a Super Bowl ring.

So what happened to these guys Sunday?

Brunell breaks an NFL record for consecutive completions in a game and leads his team to victory, while Big ben looks feeble on the field throws a couple of back breaking interceptions and hands a game to his team's toughest in-division rival.

I'm sure they were just blips on the radar. I have confidence that by the end of the season, Brunell will be riding the pine and Ben will be playing well and fighting for a playoff spot, if not fighting in the playoffs. I'm sure it's a product of shaking off rust for Ben, and playing against the Texans for Brunell.

I sure hope so.

Around the NFL

Three weeks in, what do we know?

The Colts are going to have a phenominal regular season. I've never doubted that. They'll probably win 12-14 games. Of course, I'll be waiting to try to predict which lower seed they flame out against in the playoffs this year.

Arizona was over-hyped. Seattle looks good, and St. Louis looks decent, and San Fransisco is much better than predicted. So, all-in-all, when (not if) the Madden curse strikes Alexander, that division could be a free-for-all. I'm pulling for the 49ers, personally ... I can't believe how much progress they've made.

John Fox might be in line for the "Tony Dungy" treatment. That is, he might get fired. This guy consistently has a team that competes with the best, but they never seem to show up for 16 weeks. Odds are, he gets fired, and then quickly snatched up by another team (maybe Dallas or Arizona).

College Football

I'm not going to over react the way a lot of analysts do (and why should I? I'm a fan, not an analyst). Georgia's scare against Colorado was just that ... a scare. They're still undefeated, still have one heckeva defense, and can still run the tables in the SEC. No need to drop them in the ratings. I've seen too many good teams pull out close wins (OSU in 2002, Auburn two years ago) to knock a team for finding a way to win in gut-check time.

My Top 25:

1. Ohio State
2. Auburn
3. Florida
4. Michigan
5. USC
6. Georgia
7. Louisville
8. West Virginia
9. Iowa
10. Virginia Tech
11. TCU
12. Oregon
13. Texas
14. Notre Dame
15. LSU
16. Boise State
17. Cal
18. Oklahoma
19. Clemson
20. Tennessee
21. Nebraska
22. Missouri
23. Purdue
24. Arkansas
25. Rutgers
26. Akron

And, my Heisman ballot:

1. Troy Smith, Ohio State
2. Mike Hart, Michigan
3. Dwayne Jarrett, USC
4. Steve Slaton, West Virginia
5. Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois